Kurt S. Browning
Secretary of State
For Immediate Release Contact: Sterling Ivey
September 5, 2007 850.245.6518
seivey@dos.state.fl.us
Secretary of State Selects New Main Street Community
Tallahassee, FL – Secretary of State Kurt S. Browning today announced the designation of Punta Gorda as the newest Florida Main Street community. Designation brings with it three years of intensive training and technical assistance from the statewide Florida Main Street Program to support local revitalization and historic preservation efforts in each community’s traditional commercial area.
“I am pleased to welcome Punta Gorda into the Florida Main Street network of communities,” said Secretary Browning. “This important program encourages economic development of Florida’s traditional commercial corridors within the context of historic preservation.. In recent years, the Punta Gorda community has faced many challenges related to recovering from severe hurricane damage. I am confident that the Florida Main Street designation, and the support that comes with it, will only enhance and support the efforts to rebuild and revitalize the community.”
Secretary Browning’s designation was based on the August 30 recommendation of the eight-member ad hoc Florida Main Street Advisory Committee. Organizations represented on the Advisory Committee included: 1000 Friends of Florida, Waterfronts Florida, Florida Division of Historical Resources, Florida League of Cities, Florida Redevelopment Association, Florida Trust for Historic Preservation, Main Street DeLand (a local Main Street program), and the National Main Street Center (Washington).
Punta Gorda, population 17,000, is a mid-size city located in Charlotte County. Founded by Colonel Isaac Trabue on the southern shore of Charlotte Harbor in 1882, the first train of the Florida Southern Railroad arrived in 1886. The city changed its name from Town of Trabue to Punta Gorda, Spanish for “Fat Point,” in 1887, although it would not be incorporated until 1900. Punta Gorda became an important port for shipping cattle to Cuba during the 1890s. After the founding of the Consolidated Ice Manufacturing, Refrigeration and Fish Company in 1891, fishing for mullet, Spanish mackerel, and channel bass became a profitable enterprise as well. Fire destroyed most of Punta Gorda’s downtown in 1905. In response, the city council mandated that all future business structures be made of brick or concrete. The great Florida land boom reached the small fishing and railroad city after the first bridge across Charlotte Harbor was completed in 1921. During the ensuing period of expansion most of the city’s notable historic structures were built, including city hall, the old county courthouse, the Punta Gorda Women’s Club, Smith Arcade, Charlotte High School, and the Atlantic Coast Line Depot.
Punta Gorda joins more than 90 communities across the state that have received historic preservation and downtown revitalization assistance from Florida Main Street since the program was initiated by the Department of State in 1985. Statistics provided by local Main Street programs reflect the positive change that has occurred in local program areas over the past 22 years. Public and private reinvestment in local program areas has exceeded $1.7 billion. New construction and rehabilitation projects (many projects involving historic buildings) total more than 11,600. In addition, there have been more than 6,500 business starts and expansions, and more than 13,000 new jobs created.
Florida Main Street is a technical assistance program administered to traditional historic commercial corridors by the Bureau of Historic Preservation, Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State. The Bureau conducts statewide programs aimed at identifying, evaluating, and preserving Florida's historic resources. Main Street, with its emphasis on preservation, is an effective strategy for achieving these goals in Florida's historic retail districts. For more about Florida Main Street and other programs conducted by the Division of Historical Resources, visit www.flheritage.com .